discussionsss

M2D1: The Effects of Environmental Trends on Healthcare Organizations

One of the greatest challenges for healthcare organizations is identifying the changes that are most likely to occur and then planning for the future. Change occurs in the following areas: legislative/political, economic, social/demographic, technological, and competitive. Often we learn from the experiences of other organizations through mechanisms such as competitor analyses and case analyses. 

An active discussion is the key to an interesting and engaging online course. Discussion in this course is designed to simulate a classroom discussion. As others join in the discussion, you should read what has already been posted and continue with the discussion from there. We will go through the questions one at a time, moving on to the next question once we have fully explored the current question. I will guide you through the discussions.

The modules in this course are one week in length. Time goes quickly, so remember to post early! Get in the habit of checking the discussions as often as you can to see what others have posted and to respond. The earlier in the week that you begin posting, the deeper the conversation and learning will be.

The first question is based on your own experience so that you can begin the discussion immediately without having completed all the assigned readings. You must apply your assigned readings to subsequent questions.

Let’s start with a reflective question based on your experiences, prior learning, and/or opinion.

One of the greatest challenges for healthcare organizations is identifying changes that are most likely to occur and then planning for the future. As you will learn this week, change occurs in the following areas: legislative/political, economic, social/demographic, technological, and competitive. Based on your prior learning and experiences, please share at least two examples of changes you have noted in one or more of these areas. What do you see as the impact on the healthcare sector?

Now applying what you have learned from the readings, let’s go through the rest of the discussion together, one question at a time. I will guide us through.

Case studies are a powerful learning modality. You will be assigned case studies to critically analyze throughout the course.  For the remainder of this discussion, we will focus on how we can leverage case analyses for effective strategic planning. Be sure that you have carefully reviewed your Swayne et al Resource 1 reading in particular. 

What are the advantages to using a case analysis approach in a health care context? Any cautions? 

How does understanding your assumptions and sentiments about a case help you to analyze it more effectively? What are the potential risks of  not  understanding your assumptions and sentiments? Please provide examples.  

Think back to your reflection question about changes you have seen in the healthcare sector and the potential power of using a case analysis approach. How do case studies help us examine these trends? Why should we examine more than one solution strategy? Why not just consider “The best” one?

This last discussion question should be completed in a separate post.

To close out this week’s discussion, we will set the stage for doing a competitor analysis in Module 3. First, select one healthcare service category, such as a children’s hospital, a cardiac unit in a hospital, home health, long-term care, rehabilitation, or another of interest to you. Service categories with large number of competitors (e.g. dentistry and plastic surgery), are typically somewhat easier to use for this discussion. Then choose a local service area that will allow you to gather the necessary general, economic, demographic, health status, and competitor information for a competitor analysis next week.

Share your chosen service category and local service area.

Share your opinion about the following question: Why is it important for organizations to assess their competition? What are the risks if they don’t assess? Please provide examples based on your chosen service category and/or local service area.

Consult the Discussion Posting Guide for information about writing your discussion posts. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it. When you are ready to post, click on the "Reply" button for a new thread or "Reply" beneath an existing post to respond to the post. Then, copy/paste the text from your document into the message field, and click "Post Reply."

Evaluation

Please read the latest Health Sciences Discussion Rubric  

Download Health Sciences Discussion Rubric

and the new Health Sciences Discussion Guidance. These documents lay out the basis for how you should engage in discussions and how you will be evaluated. Discussions are worth 30% of your final grade.

 

Participation in this discussion assesses the following module outcomes:

Describe major general and industry environmental trends affecting healthcare organizations. (CO 2)

Examine important techniques used in analyzing the general and healthcare environments. (CO 2)

Identify questions that initiate strategic thinking concerning the general and healthcare environments in order to maintain strategic momentum. (CO 2)

Examine important techniques used in analyzing the general and healthcare environments. (CO 2)